Semen Gresik workers hold strike to protest sale plan<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Gresik<\/p>\n
Thousands of employees of the state-owned cement firm PT Semen
\nGresik held a massive strike on Tuesday in a bid to force the
\ngovernment to abandon plans to sell a controlling 51 percent
\nstake in the company to Mexico's cement giant Cemex SA de CV.<\/p>\n
The strike, which involved almost all employees in both the
\nproduction and administration divisions, had resulted in losses
\nof some Rp 1.85 billion (US$178,000) to the publicly-listed Semen
\nGresik, the country's largest cement maker with a combined daily
\noutput of 20,000 tons from two plants in East Java.<\/p>\n
"The strike will be held only for one day as a warning to the
\ngovernment. But if it proceeds with the (sale) plan, we'll
\ncontinue the strike," deputy chief of the Semen Gresik labor
\nunion Suaman Pratipto was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
The government was supposed to complete the sale plan late
\nlast year as part of the country's overall privatization program
\naimed at raising cash to help finance the 2001 state budget
\ndeficit.<\/p>\n
But protests from various quarters, including politicians and
\ninformal leaders in West Sumatra and South Sulawesi, respectively
\nthe home base of PT Semen Padang and PT Semen Tonasa, two key
\nunits of Semen Gresik, forced the government to delay the sale
\nplan.<\/p>\n
The government now expects the divestment process to take
\nplace in January this year.<\/p>\n
The privatization program, however, not only affects
\ngovernment finances but is also seen as a crucial measure for
\nreviving the much needed confidence of foreign investors in the
\nailing economy. Another delay or the complete termination of the
\nsale plan would only do further damage to investor confidence.<\/p>\n
Tuesday's strike also involved employees of the Semen Gresik
\nplant in Tuban, East Java.<\/p>\n
The workers gathered in the main lobby of Semen Gresik
\nheadquarters in Gresik, East Java, displaying anti-privatization
\nbanners.<\/p>\n
Suaman said that if the government sold the 51 percent stake
\nin the publicly-listed Semen Gresik to the foreign company, the
\ngovernment would no longer have the power to control the cement
\nsupply on the domestic market and cement prices would soar.<\/p>\n
Suaman said that the financial losses both to the company and
\nthe state would be much larger if the cement maker was sold to a
\nforeign investor.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a group of around 300 Semen Gresik employees are
\nplanning to stage a demonstration at the office of the State
\nMinister of State Enterprises and the House of Representatives
\nbuilding to protest the privatization plan.<\/p>\n
Antara said that the employees planned to pitch tents in front
\nof the office building of the State Minister of State Enterprises
\nuntil the government abandoned the sale plan.<\/p>\n
"We are fighting to maintain state ownership of Semen Gresik,
\nnot to protect our own interests but for a much bigger interest,
\nthe state and the general public," Suaman said.<\/p>\n
Some analysts, however, have said that the opposition to the
\nprivatization of Semen Gresik is being organized mainly by
\nparties who fear a loss of their historical benefits and
\nprivileges if the company falls into the hands of a foreign
\ninvestor like Cemex.<\/p>\n
State-owned companies have long been treated as cash-cows by
\ncorrupt politicians and bureaucrats.<\/p>\n
With the growing protest over the Semen Gresik privatization
\nprogram, there have been concerns that Cemex might back down from
\nthe purchase plan.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/semen-gresik-workers-hold-strike-to-protest-sale-plan-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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